Of Royalties and Responsibilities
by whayjhey
Summary: Prince Percy's in his fourth year and only a few steps away from ruling his kingdom. Yes, he's still head over heels for Princess Annabeth. And, no, he's only slightly terrified of his upcoming responsibilities and the fact that the past is coming back to haunt him. Only slightly. Yup. (Sequel to "Of Crowns and Cookies. Star Wars-y AU. Percabeth.)
1. Chapter 1

WHAT IS NEW WHAT IS NEW? THIS IS!

Hello! Welcome to the sequel of, " **Of Crowns and Cookies** "! It's a must that you read that story first before delving into this one. This takes a few years after the first story, and this time Percy and his friends are now in their fourth year. :) If you thought OCC was one hell of a ride, wait 'till you read this one. ;)

* * *

 **DISCLAIMER:** I do not own PJO, HoO, Star Wars, and all other familiar references in this story. All rights belong to their respective owners.

* * *

 **Of Royalties and Responsibilities**

 **Chapter One**

Annabeth was everywhere.

Her hair was curled under his hands and her scent was right up his nose that she should have been suffocating him but she wasn't. Her own hands were travelling from his hair and to his face, then from his chest to his tie where she yanked and pulled him even closer to her. Her lips were— _gods._ They were pressed up against his, and even though he's had almost four years to memorize the way everything feels when she's kissing him, he was still flustered like he was fifteen years old again and learning how to be a good boyfriend for the first time.

"We can't keep doing this here," Annabeth hissed once Percy's lips were on her neck.

"You started it," he argued between kisses, smirking when she felt her hands on his hair again.

" _Shut up_ ," she murmured, biting her lip to prevent any other sound from escaping. "Percy, we're going to get caught!"

"Be quiet before—"

" _Ehem_." There was some throat clearing. Percy and Annabeth pulled away at once, straightening their school uniforms, even though it was obvious that one of them had the other pressed against the library shelves. Their hairs were a mess and Annabeth had a suspicious red mark on her neck. Percy's tie was hanging loosely by his collar.

"Um," Percy started. "Hi." From the corner of his eye, Annabeth glared at him, looking like she was tempted to slap his face with her palm.

"Perseus Jackson of Aspyros and Annabeth Chase of Mylita," the librarian began, looking at the teenagers dead in the eye and glaring. "This is the _third_ time this month, and it's only the first of the semester! Off to the headmaster's office, the two of you! _Now_!"

Annabeth groaned, grabbing Percy's arm and not bothering to fix their appearances. All the other princes in the room were howling and snickering at Percy, "congratulating" him for another job well done. The librarian shushed them and Annabeth merely rolled her eyes, dragging her boyfriend outside.

"Chiron's going to kill us," she muttered, stomping towards the headmaster's office.

Percy managed to laugh despite his fuming girlfriend. "Hey, it's all right. It could've been worse. She could've informed our parents. What would Queen Athena think?"

All the blood drained from Annabeth's face. "Don't even _joke_ about that."

They stopped by the office's intercom. Annabeth pressed a button and Chiron's face shimmered in front of them.

"Hi, Mr. Brunner," Percy greeted the man like they were old friends (which, technically speaking, they were). Although their headmaster had allowed them to call him "Chiron" outside of class hours, they never failed to call him by his formal name just in case anyone else was listening.

"Oh dear." Chiron squinted his eyes, probably taking in their messy appearances. "What was it this time?"

"It was Percy's fault," Annabeth sounded dangerously close to whining. Percy dramatically gasped at her.

"The librarian sent you here again?" Chiron shook his head. "All right, you can enter."

Percy pushed the doors to Chiron's office, taking in the already familiar atmosphere. Chiron was behind his huge desk talking to another student, which Percy and Annabeth both recognized as Leo Valdez of Ceprione.

Leo spoke first, wiggling his eyebrows at them. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Annabeth shot him a look that she knew scared him. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Classified until this afternoon's meeting." Leo winked. "What about you guys? Where was it this time? Janitor's closet? Broadcasting room? Abandoned classroom? Oh, wait; let me guess! The library!" He guffawed. "I'm right, aren't I? Oh, man. You're going to give that poor librarian a heart attack!"

Percy had to hold back a fuming Annabeth. He changed the subject instead. "The meeting this afternoon's at five, right? Will you be presiding, Chiron?"

The older man shook his head. "I have a faculty meeting at the same time, so I'll have to leave that to you, Percy, if that's okay. I'm sure this brand new addition won't be too hard to handle. Hazel Levesque's an intelligent girl."

"Wow, one month into the school year and we've already got a new one," Leo said. "Who recruited her?"

"Piper did," Annabeth answered. "Her room's right across from ours at the dorm, and she's really nice. We haven't talked much, but I trust Piper's judgment."

"Is she cute?"

Percy rolled his eyes at his roommate. "I'm sure that's not the criteria we're looking for. Anyway, we introduce the new girl today. What else is on the agenda?"

"Well," Chiron mused. "Since I'm supposed to be giving the two of you punishment, I'm giving the two of you the responsibility of assigning Hazel to her post. Also, saber and blaster suspension until the next meeting."

Percy pouted at the same time Annabeth's jaw dropped. Leo snickered at his friends.

"You need to learn your lesson, Your Highnesses," Chiron continued. "Would you like me to call the kings and queens of Aspyros and Mylita instead?"

"Of course not," Annabeth answered immediately, no doubt cringing at the thought of her mother finding out she was doing un-princess-like vices, and at the _library_ no less. "Percy and I will take care of Hazel."

Chiron nodded. "All right. Well, the three of you should be heading off to the mess hall now. You just missed twenty minutes of your lunch hour."

Leo snorted. "Percy and Annabeth certainly didn't mind wasting the time. We'll see you later, Chiron."

The three of them bid the headmaster goodbye before exiting his office. Leo immediately darted off towards the mess hall, crying out a, "Wait till Jason hears about this!" and laughing maniacally.

Annabeth turned to Percy and scowled. "Should I run after him? Make sure his head gets clobbered before he says anything?"

"I won't mind," Percy said, grinning and giving her a quick kiss before pushing her towards the direction of their friend. She smiled at him and ran after Leo.

His friends were still goofballs, all right, despite years of studying at the Olympus Academy for the Royalty, a school that was supposed to teach them prim and properness and the ways of ruling entire planets for the future.

Of course, Percy and his friends were already seniors and were on their last year now, so no one really minded how they behaved anymore. Everyone knew the impending doom of having to rule kingdoms one day, so they were practically allowed to have a bit of "fun" while they still could.

(But apparently, this "fun" didn't include kissing – _making out_ , really - at the library. Teachers still found that scandalous.)

Olympus Academy hadn't changed much. The school still had its old castle vibe from the exterior despite the advanced technology it had. The biggest difference was that the headmistress when Percy first entered the school, Mrs. Minerva Dodds, already retired and was replaced by Percy's Geography teacher and saber mentor, Chiron Brunner.

Having Chiron as their headmaster made their little "organization" a whole lot easier to manage. Ironically enough, Percy and his friends once upon a time jokingly called their group "Chiron's Army", and now they were too fond of the name to change it. Their group had started out long ago due to an encounter with Percy's old friend Luke Castellan, and since there were threats of another army and a possible war breaking out, and since the school boards did nothing to address those threats, _Chiron's Army_ was born. No one else was genuinely worried for the student body composed of royalties, so Percy and his friends took it upon themselves to do so.

Their biggest concern? Finding out the person inside campus who helped Luke Castellan all those years ago. Someone inside the school was part of _Kronos' Army_ , and as long as he was inside the academy, then the princes and princesses weren't really safe.

 _Chiron's Army_ started out small, afraid that they would get caught and get suspended from the academy. Three years later and they still managed to keep themselves a secret, although they managed to expand a little bit and recruited those they think can help them with their cause.

Percy shook his head, bringing himself out of his reverie. He pushed the mess hall doors open to see a bustling cafeteria full of princes and princesses from all over Olympus' planets. He liked seeing everyone act like normal teenagers, despite the fact that everyone had huge responsibilities in the form of whole planets.

But there was laughter and bearable chaos, and, really, _this_ was part of the reason why Percy was glad his group exists.

He finally walked to his usual table. Leo was laughing loudly while Jason was listening intently to what he was saying, grinning widely and looking like he also wanted to burst out laughing. Annabeth was hitting Leo on the head and probably kicking him under the table, too, while Piper was rolling her eyes.

Percy slid onto his seat and tried to catch up with what was going on.

"Really, Percy?" Jason turned to the Aspyros prince. "The library? Again?"

"Like you and Piper are any better," Percy retorted, earning him a smirk from Piper.

"Yeah, the biggest difference is," Piper said. "Jason and I don't get caught."

"Ugh," Annabeth groaned, turning to Percy and burying her face onto his shoulder. "Embarrassing, all of you."

Leo snorted. "Says the one who got caught for the _third_ time on the first month of the school year."

The table budged a little as Annabeth kicked him under the table. Leo howled in pain while the rest of them laughed.

Yeah, Percy considered Olympus Academy his home, and these guys were the main reasons why.

* * *

"Whoa," Hazel Levesque muttered once Percy opened one of the doors in Chiron's office. At first there was only pitch black, but once Percy turned on the lights, a very wide two-story space was revealed. The place used to be a huge library, but since _Chiron's Army_ needed a place for their activities, Chiron took it upon himself to clear out the place and store the old books somewhere else once he was headmaster.

The first floor of the place looked like a training area. There were boards with blaster hooks and sabers hanging off of it. There were also different shooting targets on the walls. At the center was an enclosed space for dueling. There were also several screens and machine-like things that projected holo-targets and holo-obstacles for them to practice on. (The holo-images were Annabeth's idea, and she and Leo combined efforts to learn programming and come up with the perfect training gear).

The second floor was more of an enclosed space at the sides of the room, overlooking the training area. Unlike the bottom floor, this part had lots of tables and computers. There was even a large table at the end full of tools and random metal parts.

"Welcome to base." Percy grinned at the new girl. "The others will be here any minute now. Annabeth and I were supposed to assign you to your sector, but she had some work to do at the broadcasting station, so she'll try to catch up. I assume Piper's already given you the basics?"

"Basics, yeah." Hazel nodded, eyes still scanning the room. "She told me that you guys were trying to figure out what's going on in the academy, and that you're also trying to come up with measures to at least be prepared for whatever's going to happen."

"Well… this is where the magic happens." Percy walked into the center of the room. "Any particular field you're interested in? Sabers, blasters? Do you know how to program or build things? We've got Leo Valdez on that. The physical training's under me and Jason Grace, if you know him. Annabeth and Piper are head of recruitment and the general research for everything."

Hazel looked overwhelmed. "Wow, that's a lot to take in. But, uh…"

"Don't worry," Percy chuckled reassuringly. "It takes some time to get used to. That is, if you decide not to leave the group or…"

"No, no," Hazel said quickly. "I think this is all amazing, actually. So… how do I decide where I'm going to help?"

"That's entirely up to you, Hazel. Of course, there's always—"

All the other members chose that moment to barge into the room.

Leo was the first. "WHERE IS TRAVIS?! I SWEAR I'M GOING TO—"

Piper came prancing next, snorting at the Ceprione prince. "Leo, please. We don't want to ruin our image to Hazel just yet."

Other people were filing in, but Percy and Hazel had their eyes on the prince with half of his hair on fire. "Leo, why is your hair emitting smoke?"

Travis Stoll's laugh could be heard even though he had yet to make an appearance. He came strolling in a few seconds later. "Why, I'm so glad you asked, Percy. Let's just say it involved a brand new blaster programmed with face recognition."

Leo was scowling. "And you figured it would be _awesome_ to test it on my face."

"Pretty much."

Percy sent Hazel an apologetic smile, although he couldn't deny the fact that he liked seeing Travis like this. It turned out that the Pherena prince had the most mischievous flair to him, and for some reason his favorite victim was Leo. Percy was just glad that he bounced back almost immediately after his brother Connor Stoll's death.

"Gentlemen," Annabeth said, finally arriving and walking towards Percy's side. "Enough trouble. We've got work to do."

Leo snorted at her. "Speaking of _trouble_ —" Annabeth glared at him. "Right. Up to the work table I go."

All the others were bustling with activity around the room. Piper was already hitting the computer upstairs with Travis and Leo. Jason and Frank Zhang were tinkering with the sabers, while Will Solace and Clarisse La Rue were by the blasters. There used to be more of them, but the others such as Annabeth's brother Malcolm and Jason's sister Thalia already graduated. They never failed to break communications, however, dropping by to say hello once in a while.

"Well, Hazel," Annabeth started. "This is us. Are you interested on a tour?"

Hazel nodded. "Yes, please."

"You go, Percy." Annabeth smirked at him. "I'll take care of her. Since we're on weapon suspension, why don't you go help Piper out?"

Percy sighed before kissing her on the cheek. "Yes, ma'am." He trudged up the steps to see Piper and Travis hunched over something. "What's up?"

"So far, we've got nothing," Piper said, sighing. "I asked the other students if their respective planets have any relations with Tartarus like you asked me to, but we agreed long ago that we shouldn't be asking too many if we don't want to get caught. So far, every planet's got someone who has been going around asking support for Tartarus' security system. His name's Midas, and he's not exactly king, but since Kronos' fall, he's been overseeing everything."

Percy's eyes widened in recognition. "I remember him, but he was in Aspyros almost two years ago. He said he had big plans for his planet."

"How do we know if he's working for Kronos?" Travis asked.

"Did you say security system?" Percy raised an eyebrow. "Isn't that Kronos guy locked up in the prison?"

Chiron had long ago told them the story about how the then King of Tartarus Kronos, by the unanimous decision by all the courts of all the other planets, was convicted of theft for exploiting what Olympus had that belonged to the people. It was a story told again and again as a reminder to all the students that, even though they're of royal blood, no one's an exemption to the law.

"Well, with what little inhabitants Tartarus has, I don't think there's better use for all the funds and help that that Midas guy is going to get," Piper answered before frowning. "Unless, of course, he's also working for Kronos. But he should know better. He gets to see that prison every time he's home. He should how horrible it is to be in there."

Percy frowned. "Are you sure that's all we've got? No other planet has any ties with Tartarus?"

"Well…" Piper trailed off, cocking her head to the side so she could look at Travis. The prince widened his eyes once he saw her look.

Travis was shaking his head frantically. "Piper, you know I can't ask him."

"We have to try, Travis," Piper insisted.

"My father refuses to talk about anything that has to do with Luke or with that army he's part of," Travis said. "If I ask about Tartarus, he'll have my butt, I swear."

But there was a reason why Percy chose Piper for any task that involved asking any of the students. He found out long ago that she was incredibly good at convincing anyone to do what she wanted. Percy wasn't sure how she did that, but maybe it had something to do with her pretty face and the pout she does all the time.

(Percy also has a theory that Jason's incredibly whipped because of that.)

"For us, Travis?" Piper asked, making Percy roll his eyes at her attempts to that _face_ again. "We've never asked you before, but we're coming to a dead end now. Please?"

Travis stared at her for a moment before frowning.

"Piper, no."

" _Please_?"

"...fine." Travis rolled his eyes. "But this is going to take a while. _Gods_ , how does Jason argue with you?"

Piper grinned. "He doesn't."

"Thank you, Travis," Percy said sincerely. "We know this isn't easy for you, so we owe you a lot."

"Yeah, you can start by telling me why you and Annabeth are always getting caught at the library."

Percy groaned as Piper laughed loudly.

Despite all the heavy stuff they had to deal with, somehow they always found a way to act like crazy teenagers.

Percy wouldn't trade his friends for the world.

* * *

 _Fourteen-year-old Luke Castellan stopped short at the hallways. Rows of guards donned in green were lined up all the way to where his father's room was situated at the end of the hall._

" _What's going on?" He asked no one in particular. He didn't like the sight of all these guards;_ something _must've gone wrong._

 _Suddenly he felt a sense of dread. His father wasn't supposed to be home yet. King Hermes had sent him somewhere as representative of the kingdom of Pherena; for what, Luke didn't know._

 _Before he could give it much thought, he started running towards the door at the end of the hall._

 _But then—_

" _Luke, wait!"_

 _The blond prince stopped and turned around to see his cousin and heir to the Pherena throne, Prince Connor Stoll._

" _Cousin," Luke greeted. He tried to look calm but he really couldn't keep the fright out of his voice. The older boy had an expression that Luke didn't like; Connor's eyes were wide and it looked like he was hiding something. "What's going on? Is my father home? Why are they all here?"_

 _Connor bit his lip, probably contemplating his next words. "Your father was going on a diplomatic mission for Tartarus;_ that, _you already know. But, uh…"_

" _Connor." Luke was already starting to panic. "What's happening? Father and his fleet weren't supposed to return until this Friday—"_

" _That's the thing, Luke," Connor said. "Their ship wasn't able to take off properly._ Something _happened while they were jumping into hyperspace. No one could tell what it was. Your father and all the people he was with—"_

 _Luke didn't listen to rest of his cousin's words. He decided to run all the way to his father's room instead, blinking back tears and trying to ignore the fact that his chest was starting to hurt for a reason he wasn't sure of._

 _He only stopped when the door opened, and King Hermes exited with an expression too sad for a king to wear._

" _Uncle—" Luke started._

 _The king didn't say a word. He dropped down to Luke's height and hugged his nephew… something he hasn't done since Luke was very little._

 _When Luke felt the king's tears on his shoulder, he started crying himself._

 **End of Chapter One**

* * *

Oh wow oh wow oh wow this is here! I apologize for the wait that came with this chapter, although I don't have a better reason aside from school. Free life tip: choose a major you're going to love for the rest of your existence huhu. You'll have to constantly remind yourself why you're doing what you're doing. Hahahuhu

Thank you so much for reading and for reaching this far of my stories! It means a lot to me! That being said, I'm going to have to ask you guys to be patient with my updating schedule. So far, college is taking so much of my time and I don't know when the next chapter's going to be up. I'll write as much as I can, though, I promise!

Thanks again! Have a great day! -YJ

 **tumblr:** itsscaryyoke


	2. Chapter 2

**See you at the bottom.**

 **DISCLAIMER:** I do not own PJO, HoO, Star Wars, and any other familiar references in this story. All rights belong to their original owners.

* * *

 **Of Royalties and Responsibilities**

 **Chapter Two**

"I'm dying."

"No, you're not."

" _Yes_ , I am. I can't do this anymore."

Jason rolled his eyes, ripping a piece of paper from his notebook and chunking it towards Leo's head. Percy snorted from where he was on top of the bed, glancing up from his reading to see his two roommates sprawled on the floor.

"What are you guys doing?" the Aspyros prince asked.

"Dying," Leo stated seriously, slamming down the book he was reading onto the floor before sulking like a little kid. "It's only the first month of school and we're already subjected to multiple torture."

"Your 'multiple torture' being _reading_ , of course," Jason piped in.

"Exactly!" Leo cried out. "Why must such cruelty exist?!"

Percy laughed. "Drama queen. What are you reading, anyway?"

"History Four," the prince of Ceprione grumbled. "I swear Professor Charon's out to get us. How much history does Olympus have, really?"

"That's senior year for you." It was Jason who snorted this time. He went back to whatever he was writing down, deciding that whatever drama Leo had now was probably similar to all the other ones he had in the past three years. (By some miracle, the guy still passed all of his classes, so Percy and Jason weren't that too worried about him.)

But Leo wasn't done talking. "You'd think they'd actually teach us the good stuff a little more seriously this time."

Percy's brows furrowed. "The good stuff?" He thought back to the past few years of his stay in the academy. So far, Percy had already gotten a taste of what he thought was _the good stuff_. At least, that's what he felt. He already had saber sparring, blaster shooting, and aircraft flying for gym. And even his other lessons were interesting to him, especially since he had a pretty girlfriend to study with.

"The good stuff," Leo mused. "Like… you know. Like actually _battling_ the real things instead of just holo simulations."

"Leo… _you_ designed those holo simulations for gym."

"Yeah, but we're going to be generals pretty soon," Leo argued.

"Except we don't have any battles to practice with, if you're looking for actual blood bath," Jason said.

"Not yet," Percy reminded them.

"Not yet," Jason corrected himself.

Years after the events with Luke Castellan, and even if nothing had happened so far, they still hadn't forgotten about the Pherena prince's threats once upon a night.

" _Take over Olympus_ ," Luke had said. Percy and the team deduced that such a big plan took tremendous amount of time and planning. Of course, they had to shut up about it because the school boards _hated_ that anyone spoke about the events almost four years ago, but that didn't stop Percy and his friends nonetheless.

They had to ask somewhere else. Percy knew he couldn't handle this alone without anyone of authority (besides Chiron, anyway). He had even tried warning his father, the King of Aspyros, who thankfully hadn't dismissed Percy's worries like the school boards easily did.

But, of course, while there was no real evidence of an upcoming war, there was no real action being pushed. Luke was locked away in Tartarus, anyway, and nothing alarming had happened so far.

Percy could easily dismiss Luke and everything that had happened, but…

No. Luke was a _murderer._

It was as if Leo was reading Percy's mind. "Man, I feel like Percy's the only one who's ever got to experience a live battle in the last one hundred years or something. All these years the academy's just been teaching sparring for the heck of it, maybe."

"I'm not sure if 'for the heck of it' are the correct words," Jason said. "For preparation, sure."

Percy nodded. "For times like this."

"Wow," Leo muttered. "And they're refusing to acknowledge that the very thing they're preparing us for is already happening."

Silence.

Jason spoke slowly. "You're not… _excited_ , are you? For this whole Kronos Army to finally happen?"

"Oh, it's happening already, my friend," Leo said seriously. "We're just waiting for them to strike."

It was funny, talking about their impending doom like this. Percy remembered the first time they ever talked about the armies way back in their first year. The three of them had just decided that they were going to head Chiron's Army (because who else would, really?). As if sneaking out way past curfew wasn't already troubling, they still had the audacity to talk about what the school boards considered taboo.

They used to be terrified that they would get caught.

Now? Psh.

Talking of nothing but Chiron's Army was almost second nature to them.

"Leo, dude," Percy had to laugh. "The stuff you think of when you're bored."

And just like that, all the tension that was previously in the room dissipated.

Leo sighed before standing up from the floor, stretching as he did so. "I know, I know. I just can't wait to be a general."

Jason cracked a smile. "You make it sound like it's an easy thing. First thing's first: graduation."

Percy stood up from his bed, walking to where his best friends were on the floor. "And that means—" He picked up Leo's abandoned book before playfully throwing it towards the brown-haired boy's head. "— _reading_."

"Eh." Leo caught the book with ease. "You know, if I had a pretty girlfriend like you guys, I wouldn't be so worked up about this whole general thing."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh, you know. I'd have other things to worry about. Marriage and planet alliances and all that—Jason, are you _hyperventilating_?"

Percy stared at the blond still sitting on the floor. "Leo, what have you done?"

There was a sudden look of horror on Jason's face. "Why are you so calm?!" He pointed an offending finger towards the Aspyros prince. His voice was probably eight octaves higher. "Didn't you hear what he just said?"

"Um…"

"What?" Leo asked innocently. "Girlfriends? Marriage? Planet alliances? Don't tell me you haven't talked about that with Piper yet."

"Well—uh—"

"Hoo boy," Leo whistled. "No wonder Piper said something about this thing the other day—hey, you know what? Respect to you, Perce. I bet you and Annabeth have that whole spending-the-rest-of-your-lives-together thing under control."

"Huh?"

"What _thing_?" Jason sputtered. "What did Piper say?"

Leo grinned. "Kinda hungry. Gonna go to the mess hall for some dinner. You guys with me?"

He was already out the door before the other boys could respond.

Jason scrambled to his feet, chasing his roommate with just his socks on.

" _Leo!_ "

Percy stared at the princes' retreating forms.

 _Uh oh_.

* * *

"—I feel like most of the teachers aren't even trying anymore. A lot of them can't see how wrong it is that they're not even revising the school curriculum to something more—"

 _I bet you and Annabeth have that whole spending-the-rest-of-your-lives-together thing under control._

"—I mean, we get it. Constancy and traditions are great, but we've been following the same program for the past fifty years, and—"

 _Spending the rest of your lives together_

"—Piper and I have been putting a lot of work into this petition. Princesses aren't just supposed to sit idly while their husbands are—"

 _Rest of your lives together_

"Percy…"

 _Together_

 _Together_

 _Together_

Hand snapping. Eyebrows raising. Gray eyes suddenly calculating.

"…are you okay?"

"I'm sorry," Percy apologized, for the first time becoming aware of where he was. Right, _right_. They did this all the time; he was in the library with Annabeth before dinner, trying to get some homework done before heading into the mess hall.

The princes and the princesses' curriculum were very far apart from the other, so spending time with each other during school hours was nearly impossible.

But they've worked around the clock somehow, and for the past few years, Percy and Annabeth have had a routine. Despite the differences of their schedule, Percy was so accustomed to spending time with her that it was difficult to imagine doing things without her.

It was difficult to imagine a _life_ without her.

 _Damn it, Leo._

"Okay," Annabeth said slowly, pushing the books on the table aside so she could rest her elbows on the platform. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Percy answered, shaking his head and smiling to reassure her. "Just thinking about some things Leo said yesterday."

"Oh," she mused. "Well, if Leo's making you think _this_ deeply, then that can't be good."

"Believe me. I kinda want to smack him in the head right now."

Annabeth grinned. "I can do that for you."

He laughed, grabbing one of her hands from across the table. He set their entwined fingers between their books in the middle of the desk. "Then by all means, m'lady, please do so."

"Right after dinner, sure."

She focused her attention back to all the work she had, and before Percy could let his mind wander off again—

"I love you. You know that, right?"

Annabeth looked up. She cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips to keep herself from smiling widely. "Yeah, I do. Are you okay, Percy, really?"

 _Here we go_ —

\- _word vomit._

"Don't you ever just think about it?"

Playful eyes were soon replaced by confused ones. "What?"

"I mean, like, the _future_. Don't you… just… you know? Think about it? Like, does it ever cross your mind… or something?"

Percy cringed inwardly, sending a silent _dude what the hell are you doing?_ to his brain.

Annabeth looked like she was considering his question. "Well… I guess I do think about it, honestly. Actually, now that you've mentioned it, I was hoping to talk to you about something."

He didn't know what to expect. "Yeah?"

Suddenly he got a giddy feeling in his stomach. Heck, if Piper was thinking about spending the rest of her life with Jason, then she must've talked to Annabeth about that, right? Which means that Annabeth must've thought about a future with him, too. Right? _Right_?

Well… you know. He _hopes_ she's thought of a future with him, at least.

He sent another telepathic curse to Leo, because let's face it: Percy was fine before the Ceprione prince put those post-graduation thoughts inside his head.

"I was thinking," Annabeth was saying. "that after the war that we're expecting… well, I kind of have an idea on what to do. My father called me this morning and said something about Malcolm helping him decide with what I can do after the academy."

"Yeah? What's that supposed to mean? And how is Malcolm?"

"Oh, he's great. He's still training with the Mylita army." She smiled softly. "Apparently, he's talked to father and he's convinced that my debating skills are enough to put any planet at my mercy. Of course, Malcolm would know; I've spent my whole life arguing for his cookies. And for anything he has that I want, really. And I win. Every single time."

Percy snorted. "My girlfriend, ladies and gentlemen. Why am I not surprised?"

"Oh, shut up, you. Anyway, guess who just got offered a position in the court?"

"Annabeth," he said, grinning. "That's great! Wow, remind me to tell my dad not to cross paths with Mylita in the near future. We don't want you hating on Aspyros again."

"Stop reminding me of that," she laughed before sighing. "I still haven't answered my father properly. You don't think it's a bad idea, do you?"

"No, no," he assured her. "Come here." He pulled on their entwined hands, leading her from across the table so she could stand where he was sitting. He stood up when she reached him, suddenly wrapping his arms around her frame. "I'm proud of you, Annabeth, did you know that? Whatever you're going to decide… well, it's not like I have a choice now, do I?"

She playfully hit him before hugging him back. "You're a loser. Thank you. I love you too."

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. For the meantime, he was spared from _that_ particular discussion.

The next words were not his own nor Annabeth's.

"So, um… aren't you guys tired of traumatizing the librarian?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes as she pulled away. "Piper. To what do we owe this pleasure?"

"Don't pull that snarky tone on me, Annababe, or I might just tell on the two of you."

Percy raised his eyebrow in anticipation.

"Okay, you got me," Piper sighed. "Now's definitely not the time to be joking. Jason and Leo said they found this by your room, Percy. They're heading to Chiron's office as we speak. We figured you were going to hold an emergency meeting."

There was a soft _clank_ as Piper dropped an item on the table.

"Oh, gods," Annabeth whispered.

"Story of my life," Percy muttered as he stared at the offending object.

It was something he hadn't seen in years. In fact, the last time he saw one of those, Luke had dropped by the school for a visit, which resulted into an ugly battle… which, in turn, resulted into one of them getting locked up in Tartarus.

Percy shuddered.

Because, right there, on the table, was the red scythe of Kronos' Army.

"Oh, boy," he mumbled. "Guess this is where the fun starts."

* * *

 _King Hermes of Pherena wasn't exactly his father, but Luke was thankful that he was there._

 _Usually the palace help were the ones knocking on his door, but the young prince was surprised one day when his uncle – the King – greeted him instead._

 _Luke stood up immediately from his bed. He felt a little woozy, but maybe that was because he hadn't slept nor eaten in a long time._

" _Your Majesty," he greeted his uncle._

" _None of that, Luke," Hermes said. "I thought I told you to call me 'uncle.'"_

" _I'm sorry," he sighed, sitting back down on his mattress. "Was there anything you needed?"_

" _Nothing in particular, no," the King replied, moving towards his nephew's bed at the center of the room. "Would you mind if I sit down and talk to you?"_

 _Luke shook his head mutely, so the King took it upon himself to sit down on the bed. He continued to speak. "The help tells me you haven't been eating. Is that true?"_

" _Uh… yes, uncle. I'm not… I'm not in the mood to eat these days."_

" _I know the feeling, if I'm going to be honest. I believe I miss my brother as much as you do."_

 _Luke looked up at him, before shaking his head slowly. "…I'm not sure about that, uncle."_

 _Hermes allowed himself to smile slightly. "You remind me of him a lot, did you know that, Luke? He looked exactly like you when he was your age. He was my best friend."_

" _I know that, too, uncle. Father used to tell me stories about the two of you."_

" _Oh? Which ones?"_

" _The ones that made me wish I had a brother, too."_

 _There was a pause, before the King chose his next words._

" _I know it's easy to think that we're alone, Luke, but I promise you that you're not." He lifted a hand so he could rest it on the prince's shoulder. "You have me, and you have Connor and Travis—"_

 _The door to the room suddenly creaked open. A mop of brown hair peaked out before Connor's head suddenly came into full view. "Father? Someone's asked to see you."_

" _Speaking of your cousin," Hermes said, waving a hand to motion the prince into the room. "Connor, come here."_

" _Luke, hi," Connor greeted carefully, slowly moving towards the other two men. "I was just thinking about how you were going to enter the academy really soon."_

 _Luke's eyes suddenly bugged. "I completely forgot about that."_

 _His mind was too preoccupied with thoughts of his father that he forgot he used to be_ excited _at the idea of entering Olympus Academy finally. Given his state now, was he ready? Call him anti-people, but…_

 _It was as if his cousin read his mind._

" _Don't worry." Connor grinned. "You've got me there. You won't be alone. I promise."_

 _Luke stared at his cousin for a second, before sharing a glance with his uncle. King Hermes smiled at him in reassurance._

 _He smiled for the first time in what felt like forever._

" _Yeah. Yeah, I won't be alone."_

 **End of Chapter Two**

* * *

Hiii so long time no see, huh? I know, I know. I am a failure to the human race and I am extremely sorry that this took too long. :( The good news is that I've got a two-month break from school and I'm finishing the next chapter as I post this. So expect the next one soon, too. Thank you for reading, if you haven't completely given up on this story yet. As usual, reviews are welcome.

Thank you for reading!

-YJ

 **tumblr:** **itsscaryyoke** (go follow me! i post fanfic-related shit there sometimes hehe)


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own PJO, HoO, Star Wars, and any other familiar references in this story. All rights belong to their original owners.

* * *

 **Of Royalties and Responsibilities**

 **Chapter Three**

Their meetings were never quiet like this.

For the first time since Chiron's Army was established, no one had anything to say. It was amazing how there was no hesitation when Percy (quite frantically) called for an emergency meeting. Now, ten royalties were all seated cross-legged on the floor, forming a circle in the middle of the headmaster's abandoned library-turned-training-room.

No one bothered to comment on the cliché-ness of it all. All eyes were fixed on the red insignia at the center of the group.

Chiron had yet to make an appearance, so it was only a matter of time before Percy said something.

"So…" Clarisse La Rue started. "This is the famous red scythe everyone's been talking about, huh?"

"It looks exactly the same, that's for sure," Jason said.

Leo nodded. "Makes you wonder how many of these things they've got."

Annabeth finally took her turn to speak. "Wait, so let me get this straight. When you found the scythe, there was no note attached to it?"

"None," Jason answered.

"Or any other forms of warning?" Frank Zhang asked.

"Apparently, whoever sent this thinks that this is the only warning we need," Percy said, finally speaking since he first called the meeting. His green eyes were still fixed on the scythe, refusing to meet the rest of the members' gazes. His hand permanently found its way onto his belt where his saber hilt rested, as if he was preparing for anyone to just randomly burst out and attack.

Annabeth sighed. "And what's even more alarming is the fact that the messenger _knows_ where Percy's room is."

"Oh, shoot," Travis muttered. "Oh wow, you're right. The last time, we could easily say that Luke sent the scythe because at least he was familiar with the room assignments. And now…"

Piper visibly shuddered. "It's either Luke sent it? Or—"

"There really is someone in the school we can't trust," Percy said, finally lifting his gaze and staring at his friends.

Everyone knew what they were getting into when they first pledged to join Chiron's Army, but this was the closest they could get to reality. For the first time ever, Percy saw a tinge of fear tinted on everyone's eyes. They've been preparing for this for so long that it was almost surreal it was finally happening.

"Someone's warning us," Percy continued talking. He was slightly shaking, but he'd be damned if he let his friends know he was afraid. He wasn't going to let anyone down, especially not now. He could only hope that he didn't look like he was chickening out. The last thing the members needed was a cowardly leader. "Something's about to happen; that much we can tell. We just don't know what it is. Or when. Or where."

Annabeth nodded encouragingly at him, probably reading his mind and knowing how afraid he was starting to become.

"What do you propose we do?" Piper asked.

"Well… we're going to kick thing's up a notch. We've long ago suspected that there's someone in the academy working for Kronos. This might just be the proof we needed. Right now our biggest concern is finding out who he is and what he is warning us about."

" _What_? But that's what we've been doing for the past three years!" Clarisse argued.

Percy had to bite back his tongue. Despite being good friends with the members of Chiron's Army in the past years, he's always had a _teensy_ problem with Clarisse's bluntness. Sure, he'd have to admire her bravery and ability to speak out whenever she wanted, but they always ended up with conflicts such as these.

One of Percy's concerns throughout the years was that the members would just start getting _tired_ of Chiron's Army. He'd understand if that was the case, however, because it was hard to just keep expecting an upcoming war if there were no real evidences being put forward.

But he'd formed and found a family with them. And even though some of them might think that what they're training for is a lost cause ( _ehem_ , Clarisse), he never got tired of being with these people.

Even with Clarisse, whose tough personality that contradicts that of a usual princess made Piper and Annabeth decide that she was perfect for them. In fact, aside from the original people that fateful night at Chiron's classroom, Clarisse was one of the first members to be recruited, along with Annabeth's brother Malcolm and Jason's sister Thalia. Frank Zhang and Will Solace, who were both good friends with Jason, were few of the next ones.

"No, Percy's right," Annabeth said. "It's hard to create a plan of action if we have no idea what's going to happen."

Piper nodded. "Then we can start with what we can do, at least."

"Such as?"

"Numbers?" Frank suggested. "Like… more of us?"

"That's going to be risky," Will Solace added. "But I think it's a good idea. Who knows what's going to be attacking the school. We don't want a bunch of princesses just screaming and not knowing what to do."

"And this is why there needs to be a curriculum revamp," Piper muttered, rolling her eyes.

Annabeth hummed in agreement. "Mmhm."

"At the same time we don't want princes owning sabers for the heck of it," Percy said.

"So… more members," Jason repeated. "This is going to be ironic. We're going to have to be extra careful since there's someone out there dying to catch anyone of us, but at the same time we're going to have to get more people to know about us."

"Um, I think I know someone," Hazel piped in, speaking for the first time. "My brother. I think he can help us. We can trust him, too."

"Hey, Clarisse, you remember that chick who beat you in arm wrestling?" Travis asked. "Maybe we can get her."

"Oh, right." Clarisse scowled. " _Reyna_. Well, I'm not talking to her. Someone else do it."

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "I'll do it. She's in the broadcasting team with me."

"Hey, uh, Percy?" Travis started. "I haven't… you know… tried asking my father about Tartarus yet. I just got the guts to do it… like, just _now_."

"No, Travis, that's all right." Percy felt like his insides were going to burst from being too overwhelmed. "You guys… this is great. I'm just—"

"Don't start getting emotional on us, ocean boy," Leo warned, snickering. "We've got this, yeah?"

Percy finally grinned. "Shut up. Yeah, we got this. I'm proud of you guys, really. Just promise me we're all going to be careful."

"Hey now, Percy, are you _crying_?"

" _What?_ No!"

"You do look like you've got something in your eye," Piper joked.

"I am _not_ crying!"

Annabeth laughed, leaning over so she could kiss his cheek. "Not yet."

"Hey, um, I've got a question," Will stated. "So you got the same red scythe when Luke last visited, right?"

"I was wondering the same thing. Where's the old one now?" Hazel asked.

 _Shoved it at the back of my closet so no one would find it_. "I hid it," Percy answered. "Wouldn't want any of the authorities finding it."

"What a bunch of losers," Clarisse snorted. "They're not even aware that a war's under their noses."

"Huh," Leo muttered. "I'm actually agreeing with you. This is a first."

Piper smirked. "I can't wait for them to come crying to us when this whole thing blows up in their faces."

Annabeth's face was apologetic, but it was obvious she was trying not to laugh. "You guys are forgetting that it's Kronos and his army we're up against."

"Eh." Travis shrugged. "I'm always in the mood for butt-kicking, whoever's butt it is."

No one seemed to disagree.

* * *

 _He could not find Connor anywhere._

 _And it would have been fine, really, if it weren't for all the people staring at him. Everyone knew who he was—Luke Castellan, cousin to crown prince of Pherena Connor Stoll. Oh, and yeah… everyone knew his father, right-hand man of King Hermes, just died._

 _If people were going to throw him looks of sympathy, they might as well just talk to him, too. He was getting a little lonely, after all. No one wanted to sit with him, and he'd be damned if he suddenly got the courage to talk to someone else and ask to sit with them at_ their _table._

 _He sighed. Week one in the academy and the only friend he had was his cousin._

 _Who was still missing in action, by the way. Connor sat with him during the first week of orientation, but now that school was finally starting, it was as if they saw each other less. He couldn't blame Connor, really; the guy had other friends, too. He wasn't going to be a parasite and just be a whiny younger cousin._

 _The door to the mess hall opened once again, revealing more students with their respective group of friends._

 _Still no cousin in sight._

 _If people-watching was a sport, then he'd easily be MVP at it. That was all he ever did these days. Unfortunately, it gave him the opportunity to_ compare _himself to the rest of the student body._

 _Perhaps the reason he felt so left out was… well, he wasn't exactly like them. These people were destined to become kings and queens one day. And him? He was third in line to the throne._

 _It shouldn't bother him, really, but then—_

 _Connor's face suddenly popped out from where he was dozing off. "Hey, Luke! Sorry I took so long."_

" _That's okay. Where's your tray?"_

 _Connor smiled apologetically as he sat down across. "Oh, uh, I already ate with the guys earlier. Just came by to check on you."_

Check on him? _"You don't have to do that, Connor."_

 _The other boy shrugged. "I don't mind."_

" _No, really. You've got friends and other things to do. I'll be fine on my own. I promise."_

 _Connor stared at him for a second before chuckling nervously. "Hey, um, the guys and I were planning to go to the gym later for some sparring. Maybe you'd like to join us?"_

Get a grip, Luke, you're not going to be a clingy burden to your cousin. _"That's okay. I've got…uh…-" his eyes searched the room until it landed on one of the posters plastered on the walls. He squinted to get a good look. "—broadcasting auditions later."_

 _Connor raised an eyebrow. "Broadcasting auditions?"_

" _Yeah." Luke nodded, hoping he didn't look terrified as he formulated his last-minute plan in his head. "It looks cool. I've got stuff to do, too, so you don't have to worry too much about me."_

 _The brunette considered this._

" _If you say so, cousin."_

 _Luke could only hope his forced smile was convincing._

* * *

Percy barely got to say a word to Chiron when Jason suddenly burst into the headmaster's office.

"Holo-cast," the blond prince told them. If the bewildered look in his eyes didn't deliver the message enough, then the urgency in his voice did.

Chiron raised an eyebrow but said nothing. He lifted a remote from his desk before pressing a button. A screen on one corner of the room suddenly illuminated. Annabeth's voice was then heard.

"… _live footage provided by the planet Gianov, the planet whose orbit is closest to Tephus. It appears that the kingdom is undergoing a sudden attack from an unknown legion. No other forms of communication have been received from Tephus as of twelve twenty-nine this afternoon. On the one hand, nearby kingdoms have sent their respective armies for Tephus' aid. We have received news that…"_

Flashes of orange and yellow were filling the screen. The princes tried not to cringe at the sounds of explosion.

"Is there anyone from Tephus in the academy?" Percy asked, eyes still on the holo-cast.

Chiron nodded solemnly. "We do. Remind me to talk to Ethan Nakamura after this. The poor boy must be terrified right now."

"Hold on," Jason suddenly said, pointing to the screen. "Percy… that's—"

"Oh my gods," Percy whispered, noting what Jason saw.

A red aircraft suddenly made its way into the footage. The plane was swooping down on the planet, evidently attacking it with large silver bullets escaping one of its openings.

Except that wasn't the worst part.

Percy tried to control his breathing, and it looked like Jason was doing the same.

Chiron's eyes widened in realization as he watched the aircraft, whose insignia was no other than a red scythe.

 **End of Chapter Three**


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